Jumping to Conclusions
by DaDADADASuperSlacker
Summary: This is a story about a girl from a big family named Shaylee getting imprinted on by our favorite angry young Paul. Problems arise, stuff happens, fluff and cute moments. Your typical fanfiction. Read and enjoy! 8)
1. Chapter 1

**[ So, the first chapter is from Paul's POV, but all of the rest will be from Shaylee's. ****Just to let you know. Enjoy! 8) ]**

**Chapter One**

**Paul's POV**

Emily had just pulled a casserole out of the oven when we heard it. A wolf howl. One of ours. That could only mean one thing.

Vampire.

Jacob, Jared, Seth, and I all traded glances. It'd been awhile since a bloodsucker had dared set foot on our territory – the Cullen's battle with their precious Volturi had seen to that. We hadn't had a vamp in almost a year.

Even so, we hadn't slacked off on our patrols – Jacob, the Alpha, was adamant about that. I think Collin, Brady, and Sam were supposed to be on patrol now, so it must have been one of them that signaled.

Almost at the same time, the four of us pushed our empty plates away and stood up, jogging out the door – empty bellies forgotten.

"Keep it warm for us, Em." Seth called over his shoulder.

Under other circumstances I would have pointed out how dirty that sounded, but I had other things on my mind. A pity two, because Sam wasn't even there to hit me for "talking rough" in front of his wife.

"Be careful. Stay safe!" Emily called from her porch as we hit the tree line. She's such a worrier.

I could already feel the adrenaline and excitement coursing through me. It's been too long since I had a good fight. Hopefully this would be worth our wile. There are sixteen pack members now, so there's not a whole lot that can pose a threat - or even a challenge to us. I don't know why Emily even bothers to worry for us.

We'd hit the woods at a light jog with Seth in the lead. He stopped a few yards into the forest and started taking of his shorts, getting ready to phase. I was about to follow suit when I felt Jake stiffen next to me.

"Hold up guys, wait." Jake said, signaling the same thing with his arm.

"What? Dude, come on! There's a vamp out there we gotta go get it." I protested, practically jumping up and down with excitement. This is kind of a time sensitive situation. We can't just sit around waiting for our personal invitation to join the fight – we've gotta just go and take it.

"Yeah, they could need…"Jared started, but Jake cut him off.

"No for real." Jake said. His tone was so serious that we stopped and listened to him. "I hear something."

I cocked my head and started listening as hard as I could, and I know my pack brothers were doing the same.

You know…now that Jake mentioned it…I did hear something. Footsteps I think, moving casually along the forest floor.

Our hearing isn't nearly as good as it is in wolf form, but I was pretty sure that howl had come from deeper into the woods. So, these footsteps couldn't be a vampires. Unless…unless there's more than one of them!

The guys seemed to have come to the same conclusion as me – or at least were curious enough to check it out, because when Jacob started walking towards the footsteps we all followed. We pushed past the last of the underbrush to reveal a girl. Just a normal human girl of about our age, I think. I couldn't be too sure because she had a hood covering half her face and sunglasses on.

Sunglasses? In the middle of the woods? When there's no sun? Maybe she's _not_ human. Maybe she's hiding her red eyes.

"She is kind of pale. Maybe she is a leech." I thought to myself. If only she wasn't so covered up. I couldn't get a good enough look at her to tell anything! I wouldn't have even know she was a girl if she didn't have her hair peeking out of her hood and if her jeans weren't so tight.

Dudes aren't shaped like _that_.

During a tense moment where she just looked at us and we just looked at her, I decided that she must be human. I could hear her heartbeat and…is that blood I smelt? Yep. Her knee was bleeding. Definitely human. She hadn't moved since we'd appeared – we'd probably scared her.

"Um…hello?" She greeted first, though it came out as more of a question.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. It came out kind of rude, but I was in a bit of a hurry. All I wanted to do was get to the fight, and this girl was holding us up. She's just one more thing to worry about – making sure the leech didn't catch her scent and come after her.

"Ex-CUSE ME?" She said with lots of attitude. Oh great. Now I'd pissed her off. Now she's gonna make things even more difficult for us.

"You can't be here. You're not supposed to be out here." I said, frustrated with her already. She didn't freakin understand. She's messing everything up. I JUST WANT TO GET TO THE FIGHT! And not have to work around some stupid hiker that insists on putting herself in danger.

Just then I noticed what she was holding. A skateboard. Who brings a skateboard on a trip into the woods? I didn't have much time to think about this though, because she was talking again.

"It's a free country dip wad! I can do what I want." She yelled. "You don't own the woods." Her free hand formed a fist down by her side.

Not only is she holding us up, but she's insulting me now two? Ugh! What is wrong with this chick? We're just trying to keep her from getting KILLED! It's our JOB!

I had to concentrate really hard to keep from shaking.

Jacob, seeming to sense I was done with being civil, spoke up. He told the girl that she was on our turf. He had better control over his temper than I do, so he managed to make the words actually come out sounding somewhat polite.

Had I just kept my big mouth shut, Jacob probably would have been able to placate her. But, me being me, I couldn't. I had to throw in my two cents. As soon as Jake had finished speaking, I said. "And WE say YOU can't be here. So…go on." I shooed her with my hands.

That really ticked her off. She straightened her back and furrowed her eyebrows angrily. "No." She said bluntly. How childish.

"No?" Jake asked, surprised. Since he'd taken over as Alpha from Sam, he wasn't used to people questioning his orders.

"No." She repeated. I could tell she'd made up her mind to be as annoying as possible.

Right then, another howl went out through the forest. Oh man, that couldn't be good if we were getting another summons. That probably means they really need the help. And here we were just wasting time.

"Come on Girl! We don't have time for this! Just go!" I growled, clutching my hands into fists so she wouldn't notice how much they were shaking.

"Make me." She challenged.

What? Is this chick serious? I'm Paul Freakin Lahote! Not even my fellow pack members talk to me like that – much less some little human girl that couldn't dent me if she had a baseball bat. And my temper is quite impressive, if I do say so myself.

The guys and I traded looks, making sure we were on the same page. They seemed just as shocked and at a loss for what to do as I was.

"We can't just leave her. She's bleeding." Seth said with a shrug. Ugh. Why does that kid have to be so nice? But I knew he was right. Even though she wasn't Quileute and therefore not technically our responsibility, that didn't mean that we could just ignore the danger she was in. We operated on a see vampiric danger, protect from vampiric danger kinda system.

"Aw crap." Jake groaned, rubbing his face all frustrated like. I guess he hadn't noticed her knee before. Typical Jake. He'd noticed she was nearby when none of the rest of us had, but hadn't noticed that she was bleeding. Which is exactly what all of the rest of us were worried about. What a weirdo. As an Alpha, this was probably worst case scenario for him.

"He's making this way too complicated." I thought to myself. I just knew he was trying to find some way to talk her to safety. But I personally didn't care what she wanted. We're bigger, and stronger, and there are more of us than her. Thinking along these lines, I knew what to do.

"Right." I said, steeling myself. I rolled my eyes at myself for not having done this earlier and saving us, like, five minutes of delay.

I walked right up to the little spitfire and chunked her over my shoulder, wrapping my arms around her legs so she'd have a harder time getting away. Haha she did NOT like that.

"HEY! What the hell man!" She shrieked. Man she's loud! They could probably here her all the way in Seattle. She'll lead that vamp straight to us!

"Go." I said, turning back to the guys and jerking my head in the direction we'd heard the howls. "You guys go. They need you. I'll be there soon." They nodded and took off running, phasing as soon as they were out of sight and running even faster to assist Sam, Collin, and Brady.

"Put. Me. DOWN!" She yelled, hitting my butt with her skateboard. Spankings? Really? What am I, 6? Now she's being violent as well as loud. THAT ought to make her easier to manage. Not. "You big jerk!"

"Shut up! And keep your voice down." I hissed. I started walking with her still over my shoulder, in the opposite direction from where I'd heard the howls. I needed to get as much distance between that knee of hers and the vampire.

"You're not the boss of me. You can't tell me what to do." She declared. Silly me, thinking she might actually want to listen to me and save her own life.

"Seriously. Shut up!" I emphasized quietly. I'd though I heard something…I stopped moving and tried to focus really hard, but that damn girl just started talking again.

"Put me down and I'll think about it." She haggled. What? Oh yeah. We'd been having a conversation before I'd heard it. I flopped her down on the forest floor, flat on her ass, and growled in frustration, hoping she'd shut up now so I could see if the vamp had caught her scent yet.

She let out an "umph" when she hit the ground. "Whoops." I thought to myself. Maybe I could have been a bit more gentle. Too late now though. Who cares if she's a little bruised, as long as she's still alive?

"Now shh!" I held my finger to my lips to reiterate, praying that she'd listen this time.

She glared at me from her spot on the forest floor, but at least she was being quiet.

Good thing two. Because I definitely WAS hearing something. Lightning fast footstep, flying across the forest floor. Headed straight for us.

I felt my wolf senses kick into high gear, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

Crap. The leech had probably honed in on the scent of her blood. Crap crap crap crap crap.

Alright, this wasn't good. This definitely wasn't good.

Don't get me wrong. I'm down for a fight. Looking forward to it in fact! But I'm not used to having to watch anyone's back but mine. The guys and Leah can all take care of themselves, but here I am saddled with a fragile human. I can't give a vampire my full attention (like I'd need to since I'm out here by myself) if I had to watch out for this girl as well.

What am I gonna do? WHAT AM I GONNA DO?

"Alright!" She spoke again, bringing my attention back to her. DANG IT! Why couldn't she just shut up! "Well…you can keep doing…that." She said. She stood up and started dusting herself off. "I'll just be on my way. Don't worry. I'll get out of 'Quileute Territory.' Since it's such a big deal to…" But here I cut her off.

There was no way I could get her out of the forest before the parasite caught up to us; and even if I could get her out of the forest, it wouldn't guarantee her safety. Leeches go crazy at the scent of blood. It could attack her in broad daylight in the middle of a crowd, never mind about exposing the existence of its whole race. But I could hear the vampire getting closer and closer. It'll be here in another minute. And I had to do something.

What I really needed to do was phase. Check in on the fight, see what's going on so I'm not fighting blind.

No way had my pack just let the leech go. And there were so many of us (even though a few of us probably hadn't been able to answer the call) that a leech escaping was highly unlikely.

Unless the leech had some kind of special power, like the Cullens do. They have a mind reader, a psychic, and a mood controller… Yeah…they're kinda freaks.

So…maybe this vamp had some kind of special weapon that took out my whole pack!

"Or there could just be more than one of them." A voice of reason in the back of my head said just as I was really about to worry. Yeah…that seems much more likely.

Whatever the case, there was still a vampire headed our way, and I was limited by a bleeding girl. I couldn't phase with her here, unless it was absolutely necessary.

But time was running out. I could hear the parasite getting closer and closer.

I had to do something.

A quick glance around the forest sparked the semblance of a plan. Without stopping to think it through, I lunged at the girl midsentence, tackling her to the forest floor then rolling the two of us into the bushes. It was shoddy camouflage at best, but it would have to do. It's the best I could come up with.

I knew this would only last us a few seconds. A vampire's hearing and sense of smell are even better than ours, so it wouldn't take it too long to find us. Hopefully I'd be able to kill it then without too much trouble. Or come up with a better plan…

Maybe by that point another wolf would show up to help me out. I could kill a vampire all by myself, but not if I had to babysit this chick at the same time.

I thought all of that in the space of like a second. We had barely stopped rolling when she gasped out "What the…" but I clamped a hand over her mouth. We really needed to be quiet now, and I went to tell her that yet again, but I looked into her eyes, and that was it.

I imprinted.

Only seconds ago I was beyond annoyed with this girl, and would have been perfectly happy if she disappeared and I never saw her again. Now I knew the only way I could ever be happy is if she let me look into those baby blues for the rest of my life.

"Did that really just happen? Is this for real?" I asked myself. "This is crazy! I don't even know her name!" But even as I thought it, I knew it really didn't matter. This is the one for me.

In the back of my mind I was dimly still tracking the vampire's path to us, but I was mostly focused on the girl.

Hadn't she been wearing sunglasses before? When'd she take those off? Oh well. I don't care. I'm just glad she did.

She gulped and almost brought me out of my post-imprint daze. Almost, but not quite.

It did make me notice how big her eyes were. And she seemed to be frozen that way, only moving to breathe. Then again, I wasn't moving either. I was still just staring at her. God, I was probably freaking her out. Yeah, I was definitely freaking her out. Her heart was beating really fast, and I could see her pulse going in her neck.

But no way was that vamp going to get anywhere near her. I don't care what I've got to do.

She let out a shiver, wait…is she cold? I don't want her to get sick! What if she's uncomfortable? I bet if I wrapped my arms around her she'd feel better – well, I'd feel better. And she might be less cold. But that would probably freak her out even more, so I restricted myself to talking my hand off her mouth and softly trailed it down her face. I wonder if she can feel the electricity. Probably not…

"She's beautiful." I realized. Big blue eyes, long brown hair. I bet it's silky. Would it be weird for me to run my hands through it? Yeah, yeah I should probably learn her name first…

A twig broke about twenty feet away in the forest. The vampire! Right, crap. What do I do? I've gotta protect this girl, my imprint, but how? Do I fight the leech and hope nothing else comes after the girl, and that she can take care of herself? Or stay with her and make sure she's fine? Nope, option number two won't work. The vamp wouldn't just forget about the scent of her blood…

"Looks like I'm gonna get my fight after all." I thought decisively, but instead of being happy about it like I normally would have, I was worried. This lovely imprint of mine is way too close, and I don't like it that this vamp is gunning for her – not that it'll ever get to her of course. I'd never let that happen. I'd tear that bloodsucker limb from limb!

I felt her turn underneath me – trying to see what I was looking at probably.

With a burst of supernatural strength, the vamp crouched and jumped, landing in the middle of the path that the girl and I had been on only a minute or so ago.

This particular parasite was a woman with long black hair that seemed impractical considering she probably spends most of her time running through forests like this one. Just because she's undead doesn't mean a branch can't rip out a chunk full of supernatural hair – Leah had learned this the hard way. Her skin was a weird shade of gray. It always looks funny when black people turn, but it's harder to see the dark rings around their creepy red eyes.

Speaking of red eyes, hers were scanning the forest in our general direction, looking for us. She could hear us and smell us, but she hadn't quite located us yet. Until my imprint gasped. Then the vampire looked straight at us and smiled.

"Shit." I said.

The vamp threw back her head and let out an evil laugh, and I braced myself for the attack I knew was about to happen. Sure enough, not even a second later she'd launched herself through the air, soaring straight towards us.

I rolled my girl deeper into the bushes and popped up into a crouch, launching myself straight to the vampire phasing mid leap, all in a fraction of a second. No WAY was I gonna let this blood sucker get past me. She's not gonna lay a fang on MY imprint.

We collided in mid-air, and my momentum knocked the leech back a few feet. But she was back in less than a second, trying to lung past me again. I swung my paw around and yanked my claws through her hair, dragging her back towards me and bending her neck at an awkward angle. She let out a screech, and kicked blindly out at me, but I dodged it easily.

We continued on this way for several minutes, gnashing and lashing out. She kept trying to get past me – crazed by the scent of blood - but I managed to keep her at bay.

"_Guys! This leech is crazy!" _I said to the guys through the pack mind. _"This is probably the best fight I've ever been in, this vamp's a freakin beast!" _Ordinarily I'd be psyched for such a challenge, but not with my brand new imprint on the line. So instead of reveling in the fight and striving for complete domination, I found myself wishing the vamp would just give up. Simply go away.

Through the pack mind, I could see the rest of my pack engrossed in four other vampires. No way had they just coincidently wondered onto Quileute land at the exact same time this chick did. They must be together.

"_Four of them?" _I thought, still struggling against the walking corpse. _"That's a pretty big coven. I thought they only traveled in pairs."_

"_Yeah, I know. I have no idea what's going on. I've never seen an enemy coven this large."_ Sam thought back.

Crap. Something's going on. There's something brewing beneath the surface here, because this is NOT normal. And it's taking us completely by surprise.

"_Shit. Fuck. CRAP!" _I cursed in my head when I found an opportunity to look over and check up on my imprint. BUT SHE WASN'T THERE!

A chorus of _"What?," _and _"You alright Paul? What's wrong?," _rang through my head.

"_SHE'S GONE! FUCKITY FUCK FUCK FUCK!" _I've had a soul mate for all of five minutes and I've already lost her in a forest full of vampires.

"_WHO? Who's gone?"_ Quil asked. He and the rest of my pack brothers were still focused on their own battles, but my frantic worry was leaking into their minds as well. They weren't real sure what I was talking about, but they knew I was seriously freaking out.

"_MY IMPRINT! SHE JUST FREAKIN DISAPEARED! Oh God, oh God! WHAT IF ANOTHER VAMPIRE GOT HER?!" _

"_Wait, you imprinted? Congrats man!" _Collin said, as usual only hearing half the information. Did he not hear me say SHE'D DISAPEARED?! THIS. IS. NOT. GOOD! If he was closer, and if I weren't so distracted, I'd rip him a new one.

"_Leave it to Paul to imprint at a time like this. Jesus, the most inconvenient moment!" _Jacob said. He was joking, but it was kind of true. Not that I'd go back on it of course, I just wish it had happened at a safer time when I could have turned on the old Lahote charm and, like, gotten her name.

_"On that hot chick from earlier?"_ Seth asked as he ripped an arm of one of the male leeches across the forest. _"Haha nice man."_

_"Shut the fuck up!"_ I growled, anger bubbling up inside of me and lending me a new fever for the fight against my own leech. She's mine. And I do _not _like people talking about her like that. Now, if only I knew who 'her' was...But I couldn't think about that now. I had to focus. _"I could use some help over here if anyone gets freed up." _I thought, trying to remain calm. This vamp bitch is one tough cookie.

**[ Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. ]**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

**Shaylee's POV**

I've never been more irritated in my entire life. I just needed to get out, to get away from everyone. I just need to be by myself. So I grabbed my skateboard and a pair of sunglasses and walked out the front door, pulling on a hoodie as I went.

It's not like anything that colossally bad happened. All the little things had just added up, and I couldn't take it anymore. I'm about to explode.

It's all my family's fault! You see, I'm a bit of a loner. I need my own space, room to breathe! Yet I'm stuck in a house with my family of ten.

Well, technically, now it's eight. My oldest brother Scott is going to Washington State University, and living in the dorms up there. And my sister Scarlett, the oldest of us all, is living in Seattle, working as a Dental Assistant. So it's really just me, my parents, and my five other siblings. But that's still a lot of people living under one roof.

Scarlett's actually the reason my day started off badly. She's marrying this dude that lives in her building in three weeks, so her and my mom are in full blown wedding excitement mode. It's nauseating. Not to mention boring.

Don't get me wrong! I mean, good for Scarlett for finding her lifelong love and whatnot. I'm totally happy for her! I even got up at seven o'clock this morning (on a SATURDAY mind you), hopped in a car with my mother and my other sister, Sandra, and drove into Port Angeles. Strike #1.

Then, I had to sit on the most uncomfortable chair in the universe while Scar tried on her wedding dress for a final fitting. Wicked boring. And then it was me and the rest of the bridesmaid's turns. Now, I don't like shopping to begin with, but spending well over half my day constantly reassuring someone of what a beautiful bride she'll be would make the biggest fashionista swear off the stuff. And all the while I'm stuffed into this tiny, skin tight, stripper-esque dress. Totally uncomfortable. Strike #2.

So, when we finally got back home, all I wanted to do was sit in front of the TV and watch the episode of Sons of Anarchy I'd recorded. And maybe take a nap, to make up for the sleep I'd missed this morning. But alas, it was not to be. My family denied me even this simple pleasure. I got about as far into my show as the opening credits when Shawn (the oldest of my siblings still living at home) sauntered in and picked up the remote that I'd stupidly left sitting out in the open on the coffee table.

He plopped down on the couch, laying his legs on me, being as invasive as humanly possible. For a second there, I was too shocked to even comment. All I could do was glare when he switched the channel, to that Dallas Cowboy's Cheerleader show of all things!

"I was watching that!" I yelled, socking him in the arm.

"And now I'm watching this." He said, completely uncaring.

"Dude, come on. I had it first." But Shawn just snorted in response. This is so typical. Just then mom and Sandra walked in.

"OOOH! I love this show!" Sandy squealed, vaulting herself over the couch and laying on her stomach in front of the TV, swinging her ankles through the air. Sandy does competitive cheerleading (competitive. Like it's a sport or something! Lol) at a gym in Port Angeles, and is absolutely obsessed with anything to do with the stuff.

"MOM! I was watching TV first, and then Shawn came and changed the channel" I yelled.

"Hers is recorded; I have to watch mine now." Shawn claimed.

"Well then record it and you can watch it later! Why are you even watching this? We live in Forks." I asked. I looked at the screen, just in time to watch some bobble-head flip her hair and start shaking her butt so hard, I thought she might pop out of those itty bitty shorts. "Ew! Gross! Never mind I got it."

"Haha yeaaaah." He chuckled, completely unapologetic. He'd also ignored my suggestion.

"Mom!" I tried again.

"Shaylee." She said, exasperated. Well, she shouldn't have had eight kids if she didn't want to deal with all our nonsense. "Sandra's watching it two. Just let them watch it, and you can watch your show later." Then she just walked off, towards the kitchen. Probably to start on dinner.

Mom had spoken, against her own precedence I might add. The rule was supposed to be first come first serve for the TV.

That was it. Strike #3. I'm out.

"Ugh!" Like I said, I've never been so irritated in my entire life. I shoved Shawn's legs off me and stomped off, out the door, grabbing my hoodie, sunglasses, and skateboard as I went.

No one tried to stop me.

"I'd be surprised if any of them even noticed I was leaving." I thought wryly. I'd always been a bit invisible, especially in my own house.

I put the shades on (not that there's any sun I need to protect myself from out here. I really just use them as a cooler form of goggles. I don't like it when rain flies into my eyes) and flicked my hood up. I probably looked like some teenage hoodlum, but I didn't care. I'm in a bad mood.

I dropped my board down and hopped on, just sort of riding around, no particular destination in mind. I just needed to move. Just get away for a little while. I couldn't stay cooped up in that stupid house any longer.

Right now it was just drizzling, so skating wasn't too difficult. Or so I thought. One of the wheels must have got caught up in that giant weed growing out of the crack in the sidewalk, because one second I'm just going along, and the next my board had stopped, but my momentum kept me going. All the way down to the sidewalk.

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" I yelled to the universe at large. I just stayed down on the pavement for a minute. "There's no such thing as a STRIKE FOUR! I was already freaking out!"

The increased drizzling on my face eventually prompted me to get up, but the movement made me notice how my knee was stinging.

"Aw crap." It was just a little ole skinned knee, not very deep injury or anything, but it was bleeding like crazy. Luckily there had already been a hole in my jeans there, so I hadn't ripped them up anymore. But since my knee was bleeding so much, part of my blue jeans was steadily turning into a deep reddish blob.

So, I threw myself a little hissy fit. I picked up my board and threw it as hard as I could into the forest behind our neighborhood.

It didn't make me feel any better.

That skateboard had cost me a lot of money.

I hope I hadn't broken it.

With a self-annoyed sigh, I started off after it, trudging through the underbrush. I shouldn't have taken it out on the board. It wasn't its fault my day was crap.

I found it just a couple feet past the tree line, (in perfect condition, thank God) and I started to go back out into the neighborhood. But to do what? Aimlessly skate around some more? After skinning my knee, I wasn't really in the mood. All I really wanted to do was brood.

Besides, the trees were shielding me from most of the rain. And it has been awhile since I've been back here.

"That's just what I need." I said to myself. "An adventure to distract me." So, I tucked my board under my arm and went exploring. I found a trail not too far in the foliage, and just followed it along.

Something about being out here all by myself, around all this nature and stuff was calming me down. I felt completely at peace. I just wished I had a Band-Aid for my knee. Walking around out here with an open wound probably can't be good.

But I wasn't ready to turn around yet. And I definitely wasn't ready to go back home. I just wanted to stay on this random path and see where it took me.

About five minutes into my little journey, I heard a wolf. At least, I think it was a wolf. It sure sounded like one. I'm pretty sure you could hear that howl all the way in Port Angeles! I'm not exactly an expert on stuff like this, but it sounded close. It must be in this very same forest. But…aren't wolves only supposed to come out at night? Isn't it a sign of rabies if they're out during the day?

I was suddenly very aware of the fact that I'm by myself. And that no one knows where I am. I froze, not wanting some rabid wolf to hear me and rip me into tiny little Shaylee pieces, then eat me for dinner. Crap, don't wolves have, like, really really good hearing? And smelling? My knee's still bleeding…what if they, like, hone in on the scent of my blood…like sharks or something…Not good not good not good.

Once again I thought about turning around and heading home, but I suddenly felt really exposed. Hey! I'm in a forest! I'll climb a tree! Surely a wolf can't get me there!

Plan in mind, I started looking around, but every tree I saw was too big. The lowest branches were well over my head; I'd never get up there! So I started forward again, with all my senses on high alert, craning my neck to look for any branch I could reach.

That's when I heard it…a rustling in the bushes off to my right. Once again, I froze (that seems to be my default reaction today). I looked in that direction, and I just knew my eyes were probably huge right now. I was seriously on edge, ready to go all Liam Nelson in The Grey. My pulse was going really fast and really hard – it felt like my heart was about to pop out of my chest! So it was actually pretty anticlimactic when all that emerged from the shaking underbrush was a bunch of dudes. Attractive dudes…but still just dudes.

"Um…hello?" I said lamely, shoving the hand that wasn't holding my skateboard into my hoodie pocket.

"What are you doing here?" One of them barked. Um…Rude! That was completely uncalled for. All I did was say hello!

"Ex-CUSE ME?" I asked, letting just enough attitude leak into my voice to be a warning. With the day I'm having, if he kept on like that, I couldn't be held responsible for my actions.

There were four of them – each taller and stronger looking than the last. Obviously Native American (probably Quileute. Their reservation, La Push, is only a mile or two outside of my neighborhood), they had that characteristic brown eyes and black hair.

"You can't be here. You're not supposed to be out here." Mr. Rude said. I could practically feel all my frustration and anger bubbling up inside of me.

"It's a free country dip wad! I can do what I want." I said, just a few decibels short of screaming. "You don't own the woods." At this point, that spare hand of mind came out of the jacket pocket, forming a fist.

"You crossed the border. This is La Push. Quileute territory." This was a different dude. Though the first guy, Mr. Rude, was obviously annoyed with me, this guy kept his face neutral. He just crossed his massive arms over his chest. And his tone kept switching from gruff to neutral, like he was trying his hardest to be civil.

"And WE say YOU can't be here."Mr. Rude spoke again. "So…go on." He said condescendingly, like he was talking to a small child. He even made these annoying shooing motions with his hands.

"No." I said, obstinately. I wasn't in the mood to be obedient. And I wanted somebody else to be as frustrated as I am.

"No?" The second speaker asked incredulously.

"No." I replied, more firmly this time.

What kind of a message would I be sending if I gave them what they wanted after they'd been mean to me? See! I'm trying to teach them a lesson. I'm a saint, really.

Just then, another wolf howl rang out. I was more focused on the ongoing power struggle between me and the nameless boys though, so I didn't pay it much attention.

"Come on Girl! We don't have time for this! Just go!" Mr. Rude growled, clutching his hands into fists.

Girl? Girl! I mean, I am a girl, but the way he said it! He just kind of spat the word out, like it was my name or something. Like to him, my identity was simply 'Girl.' It rubbed me the wrong way. UGH! He's just so rude!

"Make me." I bit back. I just stared at them as they traded glances. A moment of incredulous silence followed my challenge. It was then that I noticed something else. All of them had the same tattoo. At the same place. On the same arm.

Matching tattoos. Cute. How stupid-high-school-girl of them…

Once I'd noticed the tattoos, I noticed how I'd been able to notice the tattoos…None of them were wearing shirts. Not a one. They were all just wearing shorts – ONLY shorts. No jacket, no shirt, no nothing. I mean, it's not exactly winter yet, but it's still pretty cold. This is WASHINGTON for goodness sake! You can't just go walking around outside like that! You'll catch your death!

On second thought, with the way their acting, I can't say I'd care too much. Let 'em get sick.

I had to fight back a blush though when I realized that the guy on the far left actually had his shorts unbuttoned. Wth?! Was he getting undressed? In the middle of the woods? With some friends? Um…WTF?!

"We can't just leave her. She's bleeding." Unbuttoned pants guy finally spoke up, nodding to my knee.

"Aw crap." Speaker number two, the one who'd at least tried to be civil, groaned, rubbing a hand down his face.

What's their problem! It's not like I'm hurting anything! I was just walking. And it's not like I'm seriously injured either. It's just a scratch. Why are they all concerned about it? Why can't they just keep doing…whatever freaky-deaky thing they were doing and leave me alone?!

"Right." Mr. Rude said. He rolled his eyes, then strode quickly over towards me. He got super close. Like, all up in my face. But I didn't even have time to react before he reached down, wrapped his arm around my legs, stuck his shoulder underneath my belly button, and lifted me onto his shoulder.

"HEY! What the hell man!" I don't even know this guy. He's SO not allowed to manhandle me like this. I squirmed around, trying wiggle out of his grasp, but it was no use. He was too strong.

"Go." I could feel him jerk his head, but I couldn't see him from my position on his shoulder. "You guys go. They need you. I'll be there soon."

The other three guys nodded, then took off at a sprint back into the forest, leaving me at the mercy of a complete stranger. A completely bigger and stronger than me stranger.

Suddenly, I wasn't so confident or cocky. But no WAY was I going to let this guy know that.

"Put. Me. DOWN!" I yelled, gripping my skateboard with both hands, over my head since I'm upside-down, and whacking him on the butt to accentuate each word. "You big jerk!"

"Shut up! And keep your voice down." He hissed, started to walk back the way I'd come.

"You're not the boss of me." I said a little childishly. I said it nice and loud two, just to annoy him. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Seriously. Shut up!" Mr. Rude hissed. He stopped walking and I felt him cock his head to the side. Like a dog does when it hears something.

"Put me down and I'll think about it."

He made a growly noise in the back of his throat, clearly annoyed at me, but he did set me down – none to gently I might add. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna bruise…

"Now sh!" He commanded, holding a finger up to his lips.

For some unknown reason, I actually found myself listening to him. He'd dropped me on my butt, so I propped myself up off the (damp) forest floor with my arms and glared at him for a minute.

He was angled away from me, looking out into the forest, his eyes shifting from side to side very quickly. I took my shades off and (I was actually pretty surprised that they'd stayed on after being flipped upside down like that) and looked off in that direction, looking for whatever it was he was looking for. He looked…stressed? Worried? Wait, what's going on here? His head was still cocked to the side, like he was listening reeeeeally hard.

"Alright! Well…you can keep doing…that." I said as I stood up and looked down, brushing off my pants. "I'll just be on my way. Don't worry. I'll get out of 'Quileute Territory.'" I continued, making finger quotes. "Since it's such a big deal to…" But here I was cut off when Mr. Rude literally tackled me.

He knocked me back to the ground, landing on top of me (if I wasn't bruised before, I certainly will be now). My sunglasses and skateboard flew out of my hand, but that was the least of my thoughts. I was too shocked to even react as he wrapped his arms around me and started rolling. We ended up in the thick underbrush a few feet off the path I'd been following, with Mr. Rude on top of me.

He placed his hands on the ground, next to my hips and lifted himself up, taking his weight off of me and looking back towards the path through the bushes.

"What the…"But he cut me off again. He clamped a hand down over my mouth and looked down at me, his eyes intense. They got even more intense, and a lot wider when I looked back up at him in shock. I think he'd even stopped blinking.

My eyes must have been pretty big two. It felt like they were about to pop out of my head! Any inclination I might have had to talk just disappeared. I'm not sure I even remember how to move, much less speak.

I have no idea what's going on, and he's so CLOSE to me! For the first time, I noticed how handsome he is. And I was very aware of the fact that he's on top of me, every muscle in his body tensed, but he still didn't blink. So I didn't either.

I gulped. He was just staring at me. It felt like he wasn't just looking at my eyes, or my face, but at ME. The real me. Like, what's inside. Like he was looking into my very soul or something corny like that.

I don't even know how long we stayed like that, just looking at each other and breathing.

He's so warm, and he's pressed up so close against me. I wasn't sure if it was the shock of his body heat surrounding me in contrast to the usual cold you feel in the Washington woods, or if it was the intensity of his gaze, but I couldn't hold back a shiver that worked its way through me.

Still not breaking eye contact, he took his hand off my mouth and gently trailed it down my face, smiling a little.

Okay, what the heck is happening here? Some guy I've never even met before just launched himself at me, and threw us both into the bushes…and now we're staring at each other?!

Shouldn't I be more scared? I mean, I was a little freaked out, but not as much as the situation calls for…He could totally be about to rape me or something – he's certainly been acting weird enough…But I wasn't all that scared.

I was even being quiet, like he'd told me to. And I wasn't even trying to get him off me.

Suddenly, he jerked his head away from me, finally breaking eye contact. He looked out of the bushes, back to the path we were on before…this. He looked at the path, then back to me. Then back at the path, and back to me. Then, back to the path again.

Okaaaay… what's going on? This is so CONFUSING!

I looked where he was looking to try and figure it out. I thought I saw movement waaaaay back there in the trees, but I couldn't be sure. I strained my eyes, trying to see better.

Suddenly, this chick just, like, appeared on the path. Out of nowhere! The path was empty one second, and then she was there the next. She was scanning the forest in our general direction,

She was clearly African American, but her skin had this grayish quality to it. Like she was really ashy, or someone had rubbed chalk all over her. Even so, she was unbelievably beautiful. Long black hair, curled to perfection, cascading down her back. Cheekbones high enough to make a supermodel green with envy. Talk about drop dead gorgeous. Then I noticed her eyes. They were blood. Red.

A flash of fear went through me, and I gasped. Big mistake.

She looked right at us, and her eyes locked in on me. Surely she couldn't see through the bushes…right? But then again, if I could see her…

A predatory smile creped onto her face, and I was paralyzed with fear.

"Shit!" Mr. Rude said. I'd forgotten about him for a second there.

The woman let out this creepy laugh, bringing my attention back to her, just in time to watch her drop into a voracious crouch and launch herself towards us.

Rude guy launched into action as well. He rolled me away from her and popped up into a crouch. I rolled into a crouch as well, ignoring the way the bushes pulled at my hair. All of this happened in less than a second. When I looked back to the woman, she was still flying through the air towards us.

Mr. Rude launched himself straight at her, but mid-jump there was this awful ripping noise, and the guy just EXPLODED! Just like that. In his place, was a massive, snarling, furry animal…a wolf? Yeah. It was a wolf. HE was a wolf! A really freaking huge wolf! I was stunned and terrified at the same time.

The clothes –what little he'd had on- were torn to pieces. I guess they were too small for the wolf. Gosh! That thing was as big as a horse! Even the shoes were destroyed. A big chunk of one of them landed in my lap. I jumped in shock and wrapped my hand around it.

Mr. Rude – well the wolf version of Mr. Rude (he'd turned into a wolf! OMG OMG OMG! Still not over it!) collided with the woman, and they started clawing at each other. Never in my life had I seen such ferociousness. It was absolutely terrifying.

I could only stand to watch a minute or two, but it seemed like the wolf was playing more offense than defense. The scary woman kept trying to lunge around him and get to…me? But the wolf kept latching onto her with his teeth and jerking her back, stopping her.

I couldn't take it anymore. It was too much – I was too scared. I had to get out of there. My hand gripped the piece of shoe so tightly, that I was sure my knuckles must have been white (in retrospect, maybe I should have grabbed my skateboard instead. But you can't blame me. I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to be thinking reasonably). I stumbled clumsily to my feet, taking off into the forest.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, the memory of red eyes and snapping jaws spurring me on faster and faster. I was outright sprinting through the forest, ignoring the branches and underbrush that tried to slow me down.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" I gasped out as I ran.

What just happened? That guy just turned into a wolf! That's not even possible! If I hadn't seen it with my very own eyes…heck. I'd just seen it with my very own eyes and I don't even really believe it.

I don't even know how long I was running – long enough to where I was gasping for breath, and the stich in my side hurt so bad that I thought it'd require some kind of surgery to fix. But I kept on running. I didn't see anybody any of the times I looked back over my shoulder, but I couldn't be sure that no one was following me. I looked one last time, and tripped over a root. I went sprawling to the ground, skidding on my knees and ripping my already injured knee open again, but I hardly let it slow me down. I popped right back up and hauled butt outta there.

**[ Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. ]**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Shaylee's POV**

"Oh my God. Oh my God. OH MY GOD!" I was still freaking out, like, ten minutes later, but I'd stopped running because I'd realized I have no idea where I am, and continuing to run around like a chicken with its head cut off isn't helping anyone – least of all me.

"Okay, okay." I said to myself, shaking my hands out and jumping up and down, trying to calm myself down. But every time I thought about what I'd just witnessed, I was back to stage one of the freak out process.

"Okay. Calm down and assess the situation." I told myself as I started to pace. "Then come up with a plan."

Taking a deep breath, I reviewed:

I'd spent my morning at a stupid dress fitting, argued with half the members of my family, then left the house without telling anyone and went skateboarding. Then I fell, started bleeding, took a walk in the woods, and witnessed a guy turn into a wolf and start doing battle with some chick. Now I'm lost, in the same woods that I knew at least one dangerous wolf-man was in.

Okay. Situation = assessed. Outlook = not good.

Assuming that this wasn't all just some super realistic figment of my imagination – which I was still holding out a little hope for – what do I do about it?

I have absolutely no idea.

Just then, a branch cracked just behind me. I froze, and then slowly turned around – dread pooling in the pit of my stomach.

It was one of those guys, the ones I'd run into earlier. Mr. Rude's friend.

"Uh…hi." He said awkwardly and walked closer. Now we were the normal length apart for a conversation, but I couldn't seem to remember how to speak, so I just stared at him with all my senses on high alert.

Was this guy a wolf-man two?

It made sense. All those howls I'd heard earlier when wolves are supposed to be nocturnal. And all the guys I'd run into on the path earlier had looked alike – like brothers. It was only logical that they would all share the same kind freaky wolf mutation thingy when they look that much alike. And it also explains the whole 'walking around in the woods half naked' thing. They hadn't been headed out to some kind of kinky, homosexual orgy. They'd just been planning on transforming into gigantic furballs.

And, let's be honest, you don't get muscles that perfect through conventional methods. Much less a whole group of guys, in the same place at the same time being that buff.

"I'm Jake. Jacob Black." He – Jake – continued, probably trying to fill the tense silence that had fallen while I'd been working all of that out.

I guess he was trying to be friendly, but I wasn't going to help him out. I'd already seen one of his kind attack someone today.

So I just started at him, trying not to give away how scared I am.

"So…you live around here?" He asked casually – too casually…Was he stalling, or trying to pump me for information? I couldn't be sure. Either way, I made up my mind not to cooperate. So I just glared harder.

I did break my silence though, deciding that I needed some answers and this guy – Jake - might be my only way to get them.

"You're like…Mr. Ru…that other guy, right?" I asked. I'd almost slipped up and called him Mr. Rude, but luckily I caught myself. Jake probably wouldn't have known who I was talking about, and insulting someone that turns into an enormous animal in their spare time probably isn't the best idea.

"Who? Paul? Um…yeah. Yeah I am." He said, rubbing the back of his closely cropped hair and grimacing. Clearly he wasn't going to be very forthcoming with his information.

"And…do all your friends turn into wolves?" I asked. I'm pretty sure I'd worked that out for myself, but I wanted confirmation.

He gave me a little half smile, but didn't deny it. I took that as a yes.

"Really big freaking wolves. That…what? Attack random hikers in the woods and eat them?" I asked, my tone turning accusing when I thought about that girl from earlier with the weird eyes, and how Mr. Rude – Paul I think Jake had said his name was – had been snapping those big jaws of his at her. And about all those people that had gone missing a couple of years ago, and how the authorities had blamed the disappearances on some kind of animal.

Could I be standing only feet from one of those very animals? Could I be next?!

Each thought was more hysterical than the last, and I could feel my panic level shoot through the roof.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God." I mumbled to myself again. I'm alone in the woods with a bunch of murderers!

"No no! That's not it! You've got it all wrong! Let me explain." Jake started speaking really fast, but then he stopped and groaned. "Oh, Paul should really be here for this. This should be his job." He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You know what," I said, deciding I'd had enough. I held up my hand and backed away as Jake moved closer towards me. "That's okay. I don't need to know. I don't WANNA know! So I'll just mind my own business then, and get out of your hair…"I said, my voice coming out strangled and high pitched.

Jacob was shaking his head back and forth really fast, and his eyes got really wide.

Is he about to panic? Or go all psycho wolf-guy on me? Oh man this can't be good.

"I'll just take off then!" I continued, and jerked a thumb over my shoulder to mime leaving. But when I actually went to go, Jake stopped me.

"NO!" He shouted. I was suddenly made aware of how physically intimidating this Jake guy actually is. He's way bigger than me. Way. "I can't let you do that." He continued in a normaler tone, but I'd already turned away, ready to 'take off.'

I knew the chances of outrunning for him were slim – especially in light of recent wolfy knowledge bombs, but I had to try. I took off running as fast as I could.

I only managed a step or two before his big hand wrapped around my wrist and jerked me to a stop.

"Ugh! Let me go!" I yelled, trying as hard as I could to tug my arm free. I didn't really make much headway. I'm pretty sure all I managed to do was bruise my own wrist. Man this guy is strong!

"Sorry about this." He grimaced as he started walking in the opposite direction from where I'd been headed (not that I was headed in any particular direction…mostly just away from them. So…now I was headed towards them…I guess). "You'll understand later." He continued, still holding my wrist captive. He dragged me along behind him.

"I don't WANT to understand later!" I yelled, jerking on my arm one last time before giving up on ever escaping his trap. "I just want to go home and NOT get eaten!"

To my displeasure, Jake didn't look even remotely abashed. He actually had the audacity to throw back his head and laugh! HE LAUGHED! At my fear! UGH!

I glared as hard as I could at him until he finally stopped.

"We're not going to eat you." He said, tacking a few more chuckles onto the end of his sentence. He couldn't seem to hold them back.

"A likely story." I mumbled before something he'd said clicked. "Wait…we?" I asked, planting my feet and bringing us to a standstill. Did he mean he was headed to meet up with the rest of those wolf-guys? And…I was expected to come to? What?

Jacob stopped and turned around to look me in the eye.

"Yeah. We. I'm taking you to the rest of the pack. You met some of them earlier…remember?" He asked.

"Yes I remember." I snapped. "But I don't think that qualifies as having 'met them.'"

He rolled his eyes before pulling on my arm again.

I numbly conceded to being half dragged behind him – not that I had much of a choice.

"Well, if you're not gonna eat me, then you really don't need me around, do ya?" I asked, trying to worm my way out of this whole situation. What I would give to be back in that stuffy fitting room from this morning, dying of boredom while my mom and older sister fussed over the fit of our dresses. And I actually mean that!

All I knew for sure was that I did NOT want to be surrounded by a bunch of people that could kill me with one hand tied behind their backs. Especially since I wasn't even remotely convinced that they didn't intend to have me for diner. But Jake didn't bother to respond. He just snorted and kept pulling me along.

"HEY!" Jake called, looking off to the left. I followed his gaze and saw two guys walking through the forest. I hadn't noticed them because they were quite a few yards away, and there were a lot of trees between us. But if I looked really hard, I could pick them out. Jakes eyesight must be better than mine.

They stopped walking and Jake changed our direction a little bit so we were headed towards them. They looked a lot like Jake – tall, dark, and buff. And they weren't wearing a lot of clothes, so I figured it was safe to assume that they're wolves two.

"This is Collin and Brady." Jake told me once we got closer. "And guys, this is…" here he trailed off, looking expectantly at me. He'd just now realized that he didn't know my name. He probably wanted me to tell them, but since I'd wanted to go home and he hadn't let me, I didn't feel the need to tell him. "Um…someone." He continued once he'd realized this.

"Paul's...?" Collin started to ask something.

"YEAH!" Brady said hurriedly, cutting him off. Then he and Jake both shot Collin a glare.

These guys are weird, so I shot them a look that said that.

"I think we need a visit to the Cullen's." Jake said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of keys that he tossed to Collin. "Go get my truck. We'll meet you by the bridge on Sessom Drive."

Collin took off running so fast, that he was out of sight in only a second. I blinked in surprise, but continued walking along between my remaining two captors.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, proud that my voice came out strong and even sounding, and that there were no traces of fear in it.

"To the Cullen's." Jake grunted. "We need to have a little chat with Alice. Then we'll have to decide what to do about you, and Edward or Jasper would probably be some help there..."

The Cullens? That weird pale family that has no friends outside of each other? Why would we be going there? What makes them so special? They give me the heebie-jeebies. Edward and I have hardly ever said three words to each other, and I don't think Jasper and I have ever even been in the same room! Why would either of them know what to do about me?

What to do about me…wait! I'd found out about their secret – which I obviously wasn't supposed to have done. Surely they wouldn't shut me up…permanently. You know…as in…*gulp* kill me?

I mean, I'd only met these wolf-men a few minutes ago, and the Cullens were odd and all, but they seem nice enough. Well…maybe not 'nice' per say, but certainly not murderers…

Then again, I did just watch that Paul guy attack that girl earlier…

And if they were taking me to the Cullens, then they were obviously involved in all of this…And now that I thought about it, I kind of had always gotten a creepy vibe from them. And their not having any friends _was _kind of a red flag…

Could every step I'm taking, sandwiched between two colossal dudes, be leading me closer to my death? As my heart rate shot through the roof, I decided not to stick around to find out.

Without giving any kind of warning, I pivoted quickly on my feet and took off as fast as I could away from them – hoping they wouldn't go all wolfy on me then and there.

"What the –"I heard Brady exclaim from behind me biting back an expletive.

I heard a few booming steps following right behind me for a couple of seconds, and then a massive, muscly arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against a chest, lifting my feet off the ground.

"Yeah. She's a flight risk." Jake said, giving a little chuckle somewhere up above my head.

'Darn right I am!' I thought venomously. I'm not just gonna let you march me right to my death. I'm not going down without a fight!

I kicked and flailed about wildly, trying to escape, but it was pointless. Jake was too strong.

To my dismay Jake never put me down. He carried me like a ragdoll, with my feet dangling, until we'd reached the edge of the forest and came to a street. He acted like I weighed nothing! And when he finally did set me down, he kept a hand wrapped firmly around my upper arm. I guess he'd got tired of chasing me down.

My chances of escaping this whole mess are looking dimmer and dimmer.

So anyways, once we'd reached the street, we stopped. We just stood there, doing nothing. It didn't make any sense…

"Um…what are we doing?" I finally asked.

"Waiting." Jake answered. "It would take too long to walk you all the way to the Cullen's, so we're driving.

I looked around – no car. Were these people delusional?

"I sent Collin for my truck, remember?" Jake asked after catching the look I shot him.

"Oh. Yeah." I mumbled, feeling stupid. These people are making me paranoid.

I looked around a bit more, trying to get my bearings. On the other side of the street was Sessom Park. My siblings and I used to come play here all the time. We were actually only a few yards away from where I'd fallen off my skateboard.

'Could that really have been earlier today?' I asked myself. It seemed so long ago – so much has happened since then. I'd been so carefree – and now I'm waiting for a ride to my doom. Times change.

For a moment there, I thought about trying to make another run for it.

I knew the area this time, and my house was only about a mile away. Surely I'd be safe there…but no. Jake still has a firm grip on my arm. There's no way I'd be able to get away with it. Still, I promised myself that I'd keep an eye out for other opportunities.

We were only waiting a few minutes before this crappy little truck with a red stripe going down the side stopped by the curb in front of us. Looking through the window, I recognized that Collin guy in the driver's seat.

Jacob opened the passenger side door, picked me up, and shoved me into the middle seat before climbing in after me – he didn't even wait to see if I would get in willingly, or ask me. He just skipped straight to the man handling part. RUDE.

I'm pretty much the farthest thing ever from a vehicle expert, so I have no idea what kind of truck it was, but it was the type that only has one row of seats. So, only three people can fit in it comfortably – well, that is if two of those people weren't ridiculously huge and the completely innocent third person was uncomfortably sandwiched between their giant shoulders. It was a tight squeeze in the cab with just Collin, Jake, and I in there, so Brady just jumped up in the bed of the truck and rode that way.

**[ Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. ]**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Shaylee's POV**

We pulled up to an enormous house, way out by itself in the middle of the woods. I'd always known the Cullens were rich, but damn…

It was easily the nicest looking house in all of Forks – probably all of Washington – and composed almost entirely out of windows.

A woman materialized by the door just as Collin put the truck in park. She had soft brown curls framing her kind, heart shaped face, and oddly golden eyes. I recognized her from around town as Dr. Cullen's wife – Eddie or Emy or something.

Brady hopped out of the back of the truck, landing gracefully on the ground and loping easily over to her. I could hear their conversation as the other two boys opened the doors to get out.

"What's going on? We weren't expecting you. We heard howling…We wanted to go and check it out, the boys are all away, and they get so nervous when we investigate without them." She spoke rather quickly, with maternal concern leaking into every word she said.

"Yeah, sorry. Things got a bit crazy." Brady replied, raking a hand through his hair.

Unfortunately, I got distracted here by Jake pulling on my arm again and forcing me from the truck, so I couldn't hear what else was said – if anything else was said.

"We need Carlisle. And Alice and Edward. And Probably Jasper two." Jake said, taking long strides towards the house with me clumsily trying to keep up. I was practically being dragged. Now that's just not polite. But what do can you really expect from a bunch of kidnappers?

"Why, who's this?" The lady asked, her hand flying to her throat in a ladylike display of shock.

So, three giant scary werewolves can barge onto your property unannounced, but they can't bring a harmless teenage girl with them? I think that policy needs some rethinking.

"That's a long story." Jake said, oblivious to my internal monologue. "If you don't mind, I'd like to wait and tell everyone at once. So if you could just call everyone…"

"And I wouldn't say no to some food…" Collin chimed in.

Jake rolled his eyes at Collin, but let his request stand – I'm beginning to think Jake's the head honcho around here. He seems to be giving most of the orders. I filled away that little bit of knowledge for later.

"Yes of course." The woman said, turning to open the door for us. "But, like I said, the boys are all away. Bella is too. They went on a hunting trip," her eyes flicking to me for a moment before continuing. "And aren't expected back until tomorrow night." She explained as she ushered us into the most magnificent living room I've ever been in.

I'll spare you the details, but man! These guys are loaded!

She gestured for us to have a seat, and from the moment my butt touched that wondrous, wondrous couch, all thoughts of these people killing me to keep their secrets momentarily flew out of my head.

'Surely people that bad couldn't own a couch this good.' I reasoned.

"Ugh. Perfect." Jake muttered to himself. Unlike me, he hadn't been distracted by the furniture, so he was responding to Mrs. Cullen's words.

"Where's Nessie at?" He asked, seeming concerned.

"Upstairs, asleep. It's her naptime." Mrs. Cullen answered promptly.

Jake had sat himself beside me on the couch to maintain his grip on my arm, but he finally released me to stand and walk closer to the woman – why I have no idea, because they didn't even bother to lower their voices their future conversation, so it's not like I couldn't hear them over there.

Brady and Collin were still standing as well. They had formed their own little huddle over there, leaving me all by my lonesome. Not that I minded. The farther away I am from these crazy peoples, the better – though I don't think sitting across the room from them is really a measurable distance. Because it's not like and extra five feet are really going to matter to a bunch of murderers.

"Is there any way you can get them to come back? We have a major problem on our hands, and they'd be a lot of help." Jake continued.

"Sure, I'll send one of the girls after them. Though it will probably take a while. Girls!" I could tell her last word had had an exclamation point behind it, and that it had been a calling more people into the room, but it hadn't been much louder than her normal speaking voice. It wasn't even spoken in capital letters – no way would she be heard across the house. Especially in one this size!

That's why I was so surprised when two girls – well, women really – appeared in the room, moving so fast that they were really just blurs. They came to a stop next to Mrs. Cullen, joining that whole little group thing they had going on over there.

My eyes just about bugged out of my head. I'd never seen anybody move that fast. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be impossible to move that fast…unless you're like an airplane or something.

In the back of my mind, I realized I recognized the two newcomers from school. Alice and Rosalie Cullen. Alice was tiny and pixie-like, with short black hair sticking up stylishly in different directions. And Rosalie was the girl that made you feel hideous just by walking into a room. She has long golden hair, and a body that would make a Victoria's Secret model jealous.

I didn't know either of them personally - like the rest of the Cullens the girls keep to themselves – but it's a pretty small town, so I know a lot about them anyways. Both of them –along with their boyfriends (who were also members of the Cullen family. They're all adopted, but it's still a bit scandalous) – had graduated from Forks High two years ago, and were supposed to have gone on to college somewhere.

So what are they doing back here? Are they on some kind of break from school or something?

'Whatever, not the part to focus on.' I chided myself.

"Girls, we have company." Mrs. Cullen said as she jerked her head towards me.

Alice and Rosalie's eyes went wide as they finally noticed me sitting on their sofa. I don't think I was supposed to see their super speed. They probably had rules about acting normal around outsiders. Too bad Jake and the boys had already disillusioned me. Yup, you have to get up pretty early in the morning to fool Shaylee Kay Locke.

"It's okay, she's already seen more than she should." Jake said. Is it just me? Or did that sound really foreboding?

"Right. Well, would one of you mind going to fetch Bella and the boys from their hunting trip? Jake wants to have a meeting." Mrs. Cullen asked, turning her worried gaze onto the other two Cullens.

"Sure!" Alice said happily, seemingly unaffected by the fact that every other person in the room was stressed or worried. She was practically bouncing up onto the balls of her feet.

Ugh! What is she so happy about?! I'm probably about to be killed here. You're supposed to act subdued in situations like this. Even I know that, and I'm the good person in this scenario.

"Actually, I need to talk to Alice. So…if you don't mind…"Jake hinted, turning to Rosalie.

She didn't even bother to reply. She rolled her eyes his way in annoyance and then disappeared in the time it took me to blink.

I shot forward, looking all around, but I didn't see her anywhere. I did notice the door slowly swing closed. Surely she couldn't have ran out of it that quickly…She'd have had to have been moving even faster than when she and Alice had entered the room.

Collin looked over at me then. "Um…just ignore that." He halfheartedly commanded before turning back to that little powwow over there.

"Right." I replied sarcastically. Like _that _was going to happen. At least I know I hadn't just imagined her disappearing – it had actually happened.

Mrs. Cullen seemed to come to her senses just then.

"Oh! How rude of me!" She exclaimed, rushing forward towards me. "We haven't been introduced. I'm Esme, and that's my daughter Alice. The girl that just left is my other daughter, Rosalie." She said, reaching out her hand.

I just stared at it. I was _not _touching anyone until I found out what is going on. What if that whole wolf thing they've got going on is contagious? Like a disease or something?

Esme's face sort of crumbled when she realized that I wasn't going to shake her hand or introduce myself back. They didn't know anything about me yet – including my name (which is actually insulting seeing how I went to school with all of the kids) – and I wasn't about to clue them in. I felt bad before I could stop myself. She looks so nice, and here I am being rude to her.

Then I remembered she's in cahoots with the psycho wolf-boys that had attacked that woman in the forest, and all those guilty little feelings just went away.

"Right, well, I'll be in the kitchen then. I'll call when the food is ready. Make yourselves at home." She said while steadily retreating through a doorway off to my left.

"Thanks Esme!" Collin and Brady called after her.

Jake just looked at me with a hint of a glare, probably because I'd been rude to Esme. Then he turned to Alice and asked to speak with her in the other room. She agreed and, after shooting a quick glance my way, gestured for him to follow her. Collin and Brady hopped up and followed her as well.

That left me just sitting there awkwardly, not really sure what to do with myself. So I just kind of fiddled with my own fingers for a little bit.

I mean, who leaves a guest unattended in their house, with nothing to do? It's just rude. Especially when that guest doesn't even want to be here. I could have to pee or something, and I have no idea where their bathroom is. Like, what? I mean, I could be tearing the place apart right now, or stealing their stuff, or anything really.

Wait…I could do anything…including leave. I think they've forgotten about me. I'm here all alone. There's no one here watching me…And I don't really want to be here so…maybe I'll just fix that right now…

Looking around once more to make sure there wasn't anyone sitting in a corner somewhere that I'd missed, I tentatively stood up. Unfortunately, the door leading outside was across the room from the couch they'd left me sitting on. Meaning I'd have to walk past the archway that the rest of the kids had disappeared through.

What if they hadn't gone far? Would they be able to see me? I didn't want to get caught trying to make another run for it…What if they finally lost patience with me and decided to just go ahead and kill me without waiting for the rest of their gang to show up?

Then again, what if that's what they were discussing now?

Alright. I've gotta go for it.

So I walked as silently as possible, hugging the wall, inching my way towards the archway. I was about three feet from being able to peak around it and see, when I heard voices. I froze and strained to hear them better.

"You didn't see them coming at all? Not a hint or anything?" A male voice asked. That was Brady, I think.

"How is that even possible, I thought we were the only ones you couldn't see?" And that must have been Collin.

What are they talking about? Is someone, like, selectively blind or something? Is that even a thing? Whatever. They're crazy wolf people. They really don't have to make sense.

"I don't know. You must have been blocking them." This time it was a girl voice. Alice I guess.

"We couldn't have been blocking them when they made the decision to show up." Jake said. The other three had seemed worried when they spoke, but Jake was cool as a cucumber. "Are you sure you didn't just miss them?"

"It is possible. But I don't think so. I've been keeping a pretty close eye out ever since the Voltouri visit. But Nessie gives me such a big headache. It's hard to work around her. Still, I don't think I would have missed a coven that big coming so close. It's more likely they changed their course before I could discover it." She answered.

It was quiet for a moment while everyone seemed to be thinking. I took this as my sign that everyone was distracted enough not to notice me, so I tiptoed quickly and quietly to the other side of the archway.

I froze when I made it to the other side, eyes wide and heart beating fast. I think I made it. I don't think they saw me…I let out a sigh of relief and made to start towards the door again.

I sighed too soon.

"What are you doing?" Asked a masculine voice from behind me. I turned around to see Jake's head peeking through the archway, giving me a hard look. I guess I hadn't been as sneaky as I'd thought.

"Uh…the T.V." I staid, doing a bit of quick thinking. "I was just going to watch some T.V. Since _you guys _left me here all alone, with nothing to do." I said.

'Good job, Shaylee. Turn it back around on them.' I congratulated myself inside my head. It was actually a pretty good lie. I turned back around and pointed across the room to the television. I could have been heading in that direction. They don't know.

"The remote's right there." He said, pointing to a table right next to the couch I'd been sitting on.

"Oh. I'll just…sit back down then." I said. I walked back to that cursed comfy couch and plopped down, defeated. I picked up the remote and started flipping channels to add validity to my story. Yet another escape gone wrong.

I glanced at Jake from the corner of my eye. He was still looking at me from around the archway. I think he saw me looking at him, because he shook his head and started smiling…I don't think he bought it. Oh well. In any case, he went back to his little meeting a couple of seconds later.

Well, I can't make it to the door without walking past that archway, and there sure to be keeping an eye out for me now. Well, I guess I'm stuck here for a bit.

Rats.

Maybe a minute later I heard Jake's voice again. He was still talking to Collin, Brady, and Alice, but his voice was getting louder because they were walking back into the living room.

"We'll talk about it more when everyone gets here. We'll try and make sense of everything. The rest of the pack shouldn't be much longer. They just have to take care of the bod…you know." Jake cut himself off with a quick glance my way.

Had he been about to say bodies? Yep, I was right. These people are in some kind of murderous wolf gang. I'd actually started to relax a little bit, but all of my old fear came back at that. I had to fight down the panic I felt rising inside of me.

"Bella and the boys will probably be here in about an hour. They were pretty far out." Alice said.

"Okay if we wait?" Jake asked.

"Yes, of course. I'll just go help Esme in the kitchen." Alice said, walking gracefully towards the door Esme had left through earlier. Probably to the kitchen.

"Thanks Alice." Jake said to her retreating figure. Then he turned back to Collin and Brady. "I'm going to check on Nessie. You two…" Here he stopped talking and jerked his head in my direction. 'Watch her,' he mouthed before bounding up the stairs.

Collin and Brady took his command a little too seriously if you ask me, because after Jake left they both walked over and plunked themselves down on the couch next to me. One on each side. I shot each of them a glare – they infuriated me more by responding with a grin – before going back to staring mindlessly at the T.V.

I crossed my arms and legs and pouted, sending one last mean look at the boys for holding me hostage and treating me like a little kid. To my disappointment, it didn't seem to affect them in the slightest.

"'Watch her' doesn't mean squish her to death." I complained. This couch was really more of a love seat, and the boys were so big that we rubbed shoulders whenever anyone breathed. "I'm pretty sure I'm capable of sitting on a sofa by myself. You can watch me from over there." I suggested, pointing to another couch sitting directly in front of the T.V.

They didn't seem to agree with me. Actually, they didn't even acknowledge that I'd even spoken. They just kept on staring at the T.V. screen. I sighed in annoyance and turned to look at it as well. Why not? I had nothing better to do.

My mindless channel surfing from earlier had landed us on one of those stupid Kardashian "reality" T.V. shows. I'm not really sure which one. All I know is Kardashians kept popping up on the screen, freaking out about minor mishaps and spreading pointless gossip and drama.

Alice had said the other Cullens would be here in an hour. If I had trouble escaping before, it would be nearly impossible then, with even more people around. So I had a deadline…one hour.

I couldn't do anything now, being sandwiched between Collin and Brady. I'd have to wait for them to move. So the Kardashians I watched, if only to distract myself from my ever growing fear and my ever shrinking deadline.

Well, I _was _watching the Kardashians at least. Only a few minutes in, Collin spoke, distracting me.

"Yeah. This is stupid. We're not watching this." He grumbled, reaching over and snatching the remote from my lap. Then he started flipping channels.

Um…rude. I could have been interested in that! He doesn't know that I don't like the Kardashians. That could have been my favorite show! He didn't even ask. Urgh! Looks like rudeness is a requirement for this whole gang thing they've got going on.

I crossed my arms even tighter and started bouncing my foot up and down in irritation. I threw in a sigh for good measure, just to make sure they knew I was annoyed.

Not long after that, Alice came back in. "Food's ready." She said. "Esme is making you plates."

"Woo hoo!" Collin whooped. He and Brady high fived over my head (much to my annoyance) before jumping up and running through the door Alice had just appeared through.

Instead of joining them, Alice walked to the footrest across the room from me and sat down Indian style on it. She stared at me for a moment and I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

I guess she's my babysitter now.

"You aren't eating?" She asked in a faraway voice.

That's weird. Alice had always been the least reclusive of the Cullens. She'd always seemed upbeat and bubbly, but now she's absolutely expressionless. It's eerie. Something feels...off…

"No." I said harshly before deciding it wasn't smart to be rude to my captor. Especially when she's putting off weird vibes. I continued on in a more courteous tone. "I'm not hungry."

That's not entirely true. I mean, my stomach isn't growling or anything, but…I could eat. But the logical part of my brain didn't think it wise to eat something a stranger had prepared. Especially when I hadn't watched said stranger make it. And double especially when said stranger had already been involved in holding me against my will. They could have poisoned the food or something.

She didn't respond.

Her eyes started to drift. She'd been looking at my face when I spoke, but she didn't look away when I stopped. She didn't even blink. Her gaze just slowly shifted downwards

Wait…was she checking me out? Um…weird. Isn't she with that Jasper guy? Yeah she is. That's all the school gossips talked about for like a year after they moved here, how all the adoptive children dated each other. So this is really awkward. And creepy …

Weirdly enough, her gaze landed on my knee. My gross, bloody knee that I'd scraped up falling off my skateboard. Why is she looking at it like that? Does blood gross her out or something? It does look pretty nasty. After getting tackled in the forest and everything, it'd gotten dirty. And the blood was all half dried…yeah it was pretty gross, but I still don't see why she's staring at it like that. She could at least blink…

Whoa…did she just lick her lips? Um, weird!

Man, the school gossips were right. The Cullens are freaks. I think she was even starting to lean forward when the boys came back into the room with plated loaded down with food. Collin came right on in and plopped down right where he'd been sitting before attacking his food in a revolting manner.

Brady, on the other hand, froze just past the doorway, his full plate still untouched. He dropped his fork on his plate, then set them both on the coffee table before crossing the room quickly with his long-legged stride. He stopped next to the footrest.

"Alice, you alright?" He asked. "Alice?" She didn't react at all, except to lean even farther forward. "HEY ALICE." Finally, he put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a rough shake. She seemed to snap out of it. At least, she sat up straight and looked at Brady instead of my blood-spattered knee. "You alright?"

It seemed like a normal enough question, but his tone was full of hidden meaning. He seemed to know what was going on, but he also seemed determined to keep it from me. Must be a wolf thing.

"Yeah. It just…smells good in here." She finally said dreamily. Brady gave her a hard look, and she jumped to her feet. "I think I'll go see if Esme wants help cleaning up."

"Good idea." Brady said. There he goes with that hidden meaning tone again.

Alice took one last look at me on her way back to the kitchen, then she looked back and gave Brady a stiff little nod. Then she had gone again.

Brady sighed like he had just dodged some kind of bullet, and then picked up his plate and sat down next to me as well.

'I guess the Shaylee sandwich is back.' I thought, mentally rolling my eyes. Back to fake watching television. 'I should have tried to escape when Alice was watching me!' Aw man! That was probably my best chance! Only one guard watching me, and she was all the way across the room! Rats.

**[ Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. ]**


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